Helping Hands
by VO1
Summary: Written as a challenge and ending up really...flowery fluff. SenshiShitennou pair with SE too. Really just a night in the Silver Millenium moon. Cavities abound.


"Helping Hands"

by: VO1

He felt foolish to be so anxious, on this night, where no immediate threat was visible or even hinted at. Everything about the moon radiated peace and calmness, from the white roses softly glowing along the footpaths, their low light illuminating the white marble and the silver cords on his borrowed Moon Guard uniform, to the unnatural stillness of the cool night air. There was no wind on the Moon. No clouds, no wind, the beauty of nature without the organic, this was the Moon. Breathtaking and sterile.

How had Endymion convinced him to come? The Prince had barreled in that afternoon into his study, manic and babbling about how today was the "perfect time" and that "no one will notice" their absence. Kunzite had refused immediately, quieting the part of him that was already mentally rummaging through his closet, searching for the guard uniform of another kingdom, one that she had procured for him for their rendezvous. _"With your eyes and hair, no one will give it a second thought,"_ she had assured him with shining eyes. The source of her amusement was the ranking on the uniform; she had demoted him, a General of Earth, to a rookie palace guard, to detract suspicion should anyone see them together. They would assume that the head of palace security was training a new recruit. It also gave him free reign to roam the palace grounds, including the secluded corner of one of the gardens where he had been waiting tonight, his back pressed against a white marble railing.

The prince had wheedled at him for a good ten minutes, arguing his case with hard evidence, just like Kunzite had taught him. Yes, they were supposed to be on retreat at his father's hunting lodge. Yes, they weren't expected back for days, and yes, they weren't to be disturbed there, under any circumstances. Yes, he did owe Endymion for covering for him when the sleeping blonde woman was found in his bed, naked save for a large, olive green pearl hanging around her neck from a gold chain and a wicked sunburn. Yes, the prince could have asked any of the other three and they would go with him without a second thought, but he had never been to the moon with Kunzite, and shouldn't he go with his most staunch protector, his first bodyguard? He was going, with or without Kunzite, so wouldn't it make more sense to go and guard him anyway?

Endymion needn't have tried so hard. He would have taken any reason to see her.

"Guarding the prince" turned out to be "standing lookout while Endymion rushed away to find a 'perfect flower'". The deep, velvety red rose had gotten slightly crushed during the transporting, probably because he had been gripping it so tightly while Kunzite tried to get a read on the moon, no easy feat in the waning afternoon sunlight. Endymion wasn't magically experienced enough to make the jump during daylight, but after only a few minutes of searching, Kunzite had targeted the satellite and, gripping Endymion's arm, transported them square in the middle of the palace grounds. No alarm sounded; either she or the princess had adjusted the security field to let them in.

It was nighttime on the moon. It was always night, except for a few weak hours of gray light during the peak hour of the day. Real roses would never have survived in this kind of environment, but these weren't real roses, powered by sun and water and earth. These were Moon Roses, powered by magic. Everything on the moon was powered by magic. Which is why he had brought his gift; it was the most natural thing he could find.

His thoughts kept him so preoccupied that he didn't even notice the small figure until she was leaning over the railing, her silver pigtails dangling next to his head. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

She giggled at his surprise. "Hello."

Kunzite swallowed and tried to recover his bearings. So much for being alert to all and any threats. "Princess," he saluted her.

Her smile extended all the way into her crystal blue eyes. "General. Or should I say, Guard. Are you waiting for someone?" Her arms crossed over the bodice of her white gown. She bounced on the soles of her feet like a little girl, but she was a young woman, striking in her beauty and her innocence.

"Yes. Waiting for your Prince." Half true. "He ran off to find you a gift."

She giggled again and leaned in closer. "How sweet. But I think you're waiting for someone else, too." She gestured with her head to the white tower opposite the garden, with dark gold banners hanging from the top balcony. Yellow light gleamed out of the open doorway, inviting in its implied heat in stark contrast to all the marble. He tore his eyes away from it.

"She'll be ready soon. I think she knows you're coming." She pointed to his left hand. "What's that?"

He glanced down. "Oh, a pomegranate." He noticed her confused expression. "It's a fruit from Earth, it grows in my territory."

"I've never seen one before. Can I try it?" Her eyes never left its dark red skin.

It was hard to resist those wide, curious eyes. He pulled out his knife and sliced the fruit in half. "The seeds are edible. Careful, the juice stains."

Reaching down, she accepted the offering and sunk her small, sharp teeth into the tender fruit without care for her gauzy dress. Red juice trickled down her chin, and she caught the drips with one slender, cupped palm. "Oh!" She smiled, her front teeth and lips stained. "Oh, it's wonderful! I've never tasted anything like this before!"

He laughed at her amusement, and she joined in it before taking another slurping bite. Her joy over such a simple pleasure was enchanting; he could see why Endymion had fallen so hard, so fast. He would tell him later not to waste his time with flowers; the way to this princess's heart was clearly through her stomach.

"Come with me," she descended the stairs, her mouth full of seeds. "I need your help with something."

He glanced over his shoulder. "But the Prince—"

"Can wait," she finished. "It will make him miss me a little more."

He followed her down the illuminated foot path. "I don't think that's possible."

They walked together in the windless, endless night grounds of the palace, the General towering over the small princess, her steps light and lively and she finished off the pomegranate. He would have to give his beloved another one later; last time he had brought figs, and she had seemed to like those, as well as the oranges and the almonds. Not too fond of dates, though. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," she replied cryptically. The path wound along the palace grounds, through the tree gardens and prayer fountains, which had been turned off for the night, their still water reflecting the glitter of the stars above. They headed towards another solid white tower, this one with royal blue draping, and the balcony dark. She led him around the tower, snaking her slender body through the flowering bushes and trying not to trample the carpet of bluebells under her feet. They came out on the other side, facing a small lake surrounded by willow trees. The light from the stars glittered overhead, illuminating the clear water with a candle-like glow. The willows were still in the non-breeze; the only movement was the rippling of the lake water by two adept swimmers, floating among the water lilies that graced the surface.

Kunzite and the princess watched the pair silently from their hiding place. One of the swimmers seemed barely to move; the water supported her buoyancy. Her wet hair was short, navy blue in the dim light, her skin pale and smooth and covered by a thin white slip. The other figure was male, from what they could see he was shirtless, his hair floating in the water around his head. He said something, and his companion laughed softly, her voice as gentle as a raindrop sliding down the surface of a leaf.

"Princess Mercury," the Princess whispered to him. "And that's—"

"Zoicite." That rat bastard. Endymion's words came back to him. Today was the perfect time. No one would notice their absence. The younger general must have come to the same conclusion.

All of a sudden, realization struck and Kunzite closed his eyes, knowing he'd been played like a well-worn deck of cards in a gambler's den. The other two were undoubtedly running around on the moon, too, taking advantage of the situation, and must have left before Endymion could have gotten to them. He couldn't make the jump on his own like they could, he needed an assist, and with only one Magic Person remaining in his personal guard, he had come to Kunzite because he was out of options. The high general wondered just how many times the Prince and the other had sneaked up here without him noticing…

But he was here nonetheless. And he wanted to be. Just like Zoicite, who was watching the Mercurian princess swim laps around him, her long eyelashes wet against her white cheek, desire written across his face as plainly as text. Zoicite was a thinker, not a doer; Kunzite wondered if he had kissed her yet, if he had the courage to finally make a move.

The Princess tapped his arm, and pointed to a pile of clothes on the grassy shore. Her hand glowed silver for a brief moment, and when it dissipated, she held a pair of petite pearl-white slippers dangling from silky ribbons laced in her fingers. Mercury's slippers. She wrapped the ribbons around the dainty shoes and stashed them under a nearby gardenia bush. With a satisfied smile, she led him back through the brush and away from the pair in the lake.

"What was that?" He could see no reason to leave the Princess of Mercury up a creek without a shoe.

The Princess giggled, the sound as light as popping soap bubbles. "It was for when they get dressed. She has no shoes, so he'll have to carry her back to her room."

Common garden rocks hadn't made it to the moon; there was no point in putting them, or brambles or weeds or anything else like that in such a utopian realm. The Princess of Mercury needn't fear stepping on anything sharper than a new blossom, but knowing Zoicite, he would insist upon carrying her up the white tower to her quarters, citing some fabricated reason, just so he could hold her for that much longer. Her hair would be wet, her feet bare, her skin gooseflesh under her wet slip. She would hold close as he ascended the spiral staircase, taking in his warmth and his scent while she leaned her head against the cool skin of his neck.

Perhaps he had never been to her rooms before.

Perhaps tonight, that would all change.

This Princess was certainly amusing. No wonder she had risked coming to Earth, her spirit was too lively to sit around and wait for Endymion to come to her. And his lover, having to retrieve her like a mother hen, coming prepared with scolding words and a stern expression. That was the first time he had seen her.

And since then, he had not wanted to see anything else.

Back through the gardens, heading diagonal across the prayer fountains and reflection ponds, the princess holding on to the proffered arm. A king of a small country in Zoicite's territory had built an extravagant palace with gardens like these, dazzling in its sheer opulence, before he was overthrown and executed. Perhaps the Moon Palace was modeled after that structure. He would ask Zoicite later.

The Princess stopped suddenly, and with a finger to her lips, pulled Kunzite behind a wide tree. Peeking out, he saw that they stood at the base of another turret, in a different, more extravagant style than the one that housed Mercury. Deep red curtains were hung across the doorway on the balcony, and snow white lilies were planted along the balcony rail. Taper candles flickered in elaborate glass holders, so long and white that they looked edible. At the base of the tower, a couple stood facing each other, hands clasped together but standing apart.

Kunzite was not surprised to see Jadeite here, out of uniform and disguised in simple moon citizen clothing. It was no secret that the young general blew off steam by making covert trips to the Moon on his time off, most of the time with Nephrite, the pair taking advantage of the anonymity that the satellite offered and the frequent carnivals and celebrations that took place every lunar cycle. At least they could get here on their own accord: Kunzite had heard other, non-magic guards and citizens paying exorbitant amounts of gold to the few remaining Magic Persons on Earth, just for one day (or night, as it was) of cavorting in the infamous parties, all transactions taking place in back rooms or dark alleys. No Magic Person would risk exposing themselves. The four guards and the Prince were the only Magic Persons who were made public, and their only saving grace was their Prince and their positions.

The woman whose hands Jadeite held tenderly in his own was the Princess of Mars. No wonder Jadeite had been making so many offerings to the Martian goddess as of late; it had been a way to pass tokens of love to his princess without arousing suspicion from his comrades. Her black hair was pinned up, glittering like new obsidian, and she was clad in a wispy white nightgown that stopped above her thighs. A few tendrils of hair had escaped the updo and brushed delicately against her neck and exposed shoulders. She was barefoot, and obviously had been preparing for bed. Kunzite was close enough to hear their conversation.

"—give me some warning!" Her violet eyes were flashing; she wore no cosmetics, but her skin seemed to glow from within.

"For what?" Jadeite countered. He lowered his voice to a husky rasp. "I like seeing you like this."

"Like what? Completely unprepared?" She let go of his hands and motioned to her slinky nightdress. "Look what I'm wearing!"

The Moon Princess locked eyes with Kunzite for a second, and then made a plucking motion silently with both hands. Instantly, the seams on the Martian princess's gown separated on its own, and the soft garment fluttered down her body like a waterfall. Her mouth dropped open as she stood in the open air, completely nude. Her skin was creamy white and smooth, her breasts round and firm like new peaches. Her stomach was flat, and her hips curved out gently from the cup of her pelvis. Jadeite looked like he had just won the lottery on his birthday.

Kunzite told himself that he should look away, but he was a human male, and thus unable to tear his eyes away from the lithe princess. She was ethereal, a beautiful jewel on a bed of velvet. His love's body was the sensual one, pearls on lace, and what he had seen of the Princess of Mercury, hers was flower petals on the water's surface.

He wondered what Endymion would compare the Moon Princess to, a diamond on chiffon, perhaps. When did he get so poetic? Damn, all this business was turning him soft. The others must never find out about this, or he'd face a lifetime of ridicule. Or, well, more ridicule period.

The Princess of Mars instinctively clasped her arms to her chest, but Jadeite grabbed her wrists and pulled her body to him.

"Don't." His voice was more insistent than Kunzite had ever heard. "You are so beautiful. So. Beautiful. Don't you ever be ashamed of yourself. Never."

His last word broke her out of her spell; she grabbed him by the back of the head and started kissing him furiously, deep and sensual and frantic. Jadeite enveloped her in his arms, his hands running up and down her smooth back, one grabbing at her behind. She gasped. "Say it again."

He broke the kiss that had started, and stared directly into her eyes. Their faces were inches apart. "You are beautiful. I love you. You are mine."

They furiously embraced again, and disappeared. Looking upwards, Kunzite saw them on the balcony, lips locked together while the Martian Princess stripped off Jadeite's shirt. He must have transported them up there instead of taking the stairs. Fool, Kunzite thought. He should have saved his strength.

The Moon Princess must have shared his thoughts. Her eyes were laughing. "Looks like they're in for quite a night."

"Quite," he echoed, following again as she took off on another path. The trees grew denser and denser, and he thought he recognized a few of them. That one resembled a white birch, this one an evergreen, this one had leaves like an apple tree, but bore no fruit. They were magic trees, probably designed and created by someone who could get the basics of a tree down, but not the functions.

She held his arm again while they walked. "I never get to see you when you come," she mentioned lightly, pushing aside some light branches.

Kunzite cleared his throat. "I don't come very often."

Her eyes shone under the shadows of the trees, blue as the sky over the ocean. "Yes," she said. "I know."

"Does Her Majesty wish to see more of me?"

"Well," she considered. "You don't mind being quiet, which I can't say about the others, and you did bring a very good promgrommet."

"Pomegranate."

"Yes." She smiled up at him, her face completely level with his elbow. "I think we should see more of you." Emphasis on the "we".

He was silent. The Moon Princess continued. "She wouldn't tell us where she had been, but we could tell she went to Earth. Mercury healed her skin up and she was a lot more cheerful. I can't imagine living where the sun's rays can actually burn you!"

"It's not like that everywhere." It was his fault, really. He forgot that her tender, milky skin that had never experienced any light harsher than a soft glimmer was no match for the penetrating Grecian sun. It had burned her just as sure as flaming arrows from Apollo's quiver. But to see her again, swimming nude in the deep blue water, a smile nearly cracking her face in half at her first experience in an ocean…

The Princess licked her lips, trying to taste any residue of the red fruit that she had consumed. "I know. Mercury had a cloak in her room made of white animal fur. Barbaric! Can you believe someone made clothing out of an animal's skin?"

Yes, Kunzite thought. They would if the temperature was low enough for ice crystals to form on your eaves. Zoicite must have taken her somewhere cold. In his mind, the Princess of Mercury had pulled the furs tight around her body as she bent down to sink her fingers in the new snow, her nose and cheeks flushed red with cold, and Zoicite hanging in the background, watching her with amusement and longing.

"And Mars, her skin was burnt a little but not too much because she had been wearing a veil. A red and orange veil! She looked so funny, she had black lines drawn around her eyes, and her new dress was one long piece of cloth wrapped around her, and gold jewelry, and," she nearly bounced from excitement. "Her hands and feet were painted!"

Jadeite had told him about that, one night while they finished off a bottle of bourbon and let secrets slip. He had dressed and decorated her like one of the local women, in a sari and gold earrings, and showed her around the bustling capital city; yellow, hot, and dusty, unlike anything she had ever seen. She had fascinated with an old yogi, a woman selling monkeys, and a snake charmer, stopping to stare with wide violet eyes lined in kohl. She had tasted curries hot enough to burn a hole through her tongue, and, best of all, a live elephant contentedly chewing on a mouthful of hay. Jadeite had laughed as he described her clapping her henna streaked hands over her mouth in disbelief.

The Moon Princess rattled on. "Jupiter smelled different one day, cleaner. She kept humming and tapping out a rhythm on the table, and she had this big feather! I can't imagine a bird that big!"

"It was an eagle," Kunzite said. "Some tribes of the north hold those in great regard." They had spent their time outdoors, he imagined. Probably the Lakota, up near the lakes. Nephrite was in good graces with all the tribes. He had probably taken her through the mountains and lakes, shown her the earth and sky reflecting off each other in the mirror-like water. Mostly likely they had stayed with a tribe, the elders sensing the magic that she possessed and granting her an eagle feather, and then climbed a plateau to watch the stars speak over the line of dark trees to the beat of tribal drums.

"Want to climb?" The Princess didn't wait for an answer and stepped onto a low branch of a nearby tree. Clumsily she stretched over her head to pull herself up, and nearly lost her footing. Shaking his head, Kunzite scaled the tree easily, noting that the bark was too smooth to feel real, and pulled the small girl up by her wrists. To him, she weighed about the same as a paper fan.

"Just in time," she whispered.

"Just in time for—"

"Him," she finished, her smile so wide she looked nearly mad with glee.

He followed her pointed finger to a dark shadow along the base of a tree. Nephrite was gripping the bottom branches with purpose, as if he wished to snap off the limbs and beat the tree with them. His face was a mask of stone; Kunzite had not seen this kind of expression cross his face outside of combat or duress.

He smirked at his realization. Despite his training and his bravery in the face of uncertain fate, Nephrite tried his damndest never to climb anything taller than a stepladder. The Prince would often ask him to retrieve objects off of high shelves, or creep to the edge of a cliff to peer over the precipitous edge. Only once, he had pushed Nephrite off a short drop into a hot spring, not more than ten feet, and his birthright had been the only thing keeping him from being murdered on the spot.

The Princess seemed a bit more sympathetic. "We're all afraid of some things," she commented mildly. "You have those horrible bugs down on Earth with all the legs—yech! But it's just as absurd as being afraid of heights."

"I don't think it's heights he's afraid of," he said. "It's falling." The Princess giggled again, soft enough so that Nephrite, who had bravely managed to climb the tree limbs an entire five feet off the ground, remained oblivious to their presence.

A new voice rang out. "Who's out there?" There was no implied question, but an order cracking the silence from above, from the balcony of the tallest turret in the quad. The draping here were all feathery light and spring green, contrasting with the bamboo and wood fountains lining the rail. The Princess of Jupiter, her curly auburn hair hanging long and loose around her shoulder, moved aside a decorative vase of fresh grass and stones and searched the trees below. Some were tall enough for her to reach out and touch the branches.

"Oh, I gave her that dressing gown!" The Princess exclaimed. "It was her birthday present!"

Jupiter's Princess pulled the silky bronze robe tighter around her chest, her green eyes still darting about. "Who is out there? I command you to reveal yourself!" She had a darker complexion, healthy and tanned, and she twisted a gold chain that hung down her chest with frightening intensity. She would have been an intimidating sight, if her robe hadn't been revealing the soft, perfect skin of her tanned breast.

Below, Kunzite watched as Nephrite froze; his desire and fear surfacing into what looked like a great deal of nausea. He really ought to let him suffer, Kunzite thought to himself, for all the times he had sneaked the Prince up to the Moon without his permission, and worse yet, his knowledge. It would be fit punishment: that, and an extra hour of physical training.

But…if something as silly as a mere phobia had separated him from what he desired most…

"I got this one," he said, stopping the Princess's hand. He concentrated on the tree, feeling for its power source, and suddenly, the tree Nephrite clung desperately to was growing, rapidly, taking its hapless passenger higher and higher, until his white, terrified face was level with the balcony on which his princess stood.

"Nephrite!" She immediately held out and arm and helped him off the tree of death. He stumbled into her arms like a tired drunk. "How did you do that? You're not good with high places!"

"I-I don't know," he managed, before she cupped his chin and brought her face to his. "I guess I'm just good with trees."

"Such crap," Kunzite snorted to the Moon Princess.

Above, the Princess of Jupiter's eyes were glittering. "I was dreaming that I couldn't find you," she said, pulling herself into Nephrite's arms. Despite the kiss, he still looked a little peaked. "I hate that dream, I look everywhere, and I call your name, but I can't find you. There's just, nothing."

The Moon Princess frowned; perhaps she had heard this before.

Nephrite kissed the top of her head while one hand trailed down her back. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

Kunzite trailed behind the Moon Princess as she rattled on about different Earth treats she had experienced. "There is something that is yellow, very bright, but inside, it's so sour that my lips would start to burn! But another thing is yellow and it's so sweet and smooth, I can't stop eating it." She turned to him. "Why do foods that are the same color taste so different?"

He smiled instead of answering, and she smiled with him. "You're teasing me!" She squealed. "This means you owe me something the next time I see you!"

He made a mental note to bring her a persimmon, or perhaps a quince. A passion fruit, if Jadeite could help him with that? "On the contrary, Princess, I owe you something for such an amusing night."

"It's not over yet." She stopped in her tracks and looked up. He followed her gaze, they were back again at the golden tower, the light dimmed to a few dozen candles glowing softly on the balcony. The water in the prayer fountain was still. A figure emerged from the gold drapes, the shimmer of her saffron hair swaying with her hips, the heels of her shoes clicking against the stone, her lithe body clad only in the tiniest of lingerie, with strings of pearls covering her breasts. She smiled down at the pair, and Kunzite suddenly felt very warm.

The Moon Princess grinned devilishly, though her blue eyes shone like an angel's. "She asked me to keep you occupied while she got ready," she explained. "But it was so fun! I can't wait to do it again!"

His smile was ironic. "You're a very good helper." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the Prince emerging from a thornless rosebush, his face lighting up at the sight of the Moon Princess. He beckoned towards her, raising his chin to acknowledge Kunzite.

He shook his head and looked back up to the Princess of Venus, who had now leaned against the railing and started trailing her fingers through the waves of hair. The Moon Princess took this opportunity to steal an apricot out of Kunzite's pocket, where he had been hiding it. Her movements were so quick he barely felt it.

He turned back to her and bowed deeply, and she curtsied in perfect protocol. "Princess."

"General. I bid you good night."

"Good night, Princess."

She gave him one last, mischievous look before turning to her Prince, the stolen apricot concealed in her fist. "It will be. For all of us."

Fine.


End file.
